Painting Fields at Chelsea
A Collaboration with Fielden Whisky and Kent Wildflower Seeds
Frances recently had the privilege of creating something rather special for the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show: a large-scale painted backdrop for Kent Wildflower Seeds' floral display, supported by Fielden Whisky. The project brought together her love of botanical illustration, her recent garden design training, and her belief in the beauty of wildflowers.
When Wildflowers Meet High Society
The collaboration came about through a shared mission to challenge the rather peculiar notion that wildflowers are somehow inferior to their cultivated cousins. Charlotte Denne of Kent Wildflower Seeds has been questioning why we segregate native plants from garden perennials, asking "why shouldn't we have them in the garden?" It's a sentiment that resonated deeply with Frances, who has always found the arbitrary distinction between "weeds" and "worthy plants" rather absurd.
The display aimed to transport visitors to a traditional cottage garden, framed by Fielden's rye fields, where wildflowers like clovers and chamomile would be seen thriving alongside more conventional garden perennials. The idea was to show that there's no need for botanical apartheid – that British flora has every right to a place in our gardens.
From Sketch to Showground
Frances's role was to create a painted landscape that would serve as a backdrop to the planting, taking visitors on a visual journey through the garden and out into the surrounding fields. Drawing inspiration from Fielden's own regenerative farming fields – where wildflowers flourish thanks to low-intervention methods – she created a scene that celebrated the harmony between cultivation and nature.
The process required her to think beyond her usual smaller-scale work, creating something that would hold its own against the spectacular displays Chelsea is famous for. Working with the concept of "borrowed scenery," the artwork needed to create a sense of continuity between the planted display and the painted fields beyond.
Regenerative Thinking
What made this project particularly meaningful was its alignment with regenerative farming principles that Frances has come to admire through her garden design studies. Fielden Whisky's commitment to bringing England's fields back to life using traditional techniques that work with, rather than against, natural systems felt like a perfect match for her own artistic philosophy.
The wildflowers and cereal rye in the display would transition seamlessly into her painted backdrop, creating a visual narrative about how agriculture and biodiversity can coexist. It was a chance to celebrate not just the aesthetic beauty of wildflowers, but their practical value as companion crops and supporters of healthy ecosystems.
Beyond the Garden Gate
The project represented something Frances feels passionate about: the democratisation of beauty in our landscapes. Too often, we've been taught to see wildflowers as untidy interlopers rather than the productive, beautiful species they are. This display challenged visitors to reconsider what belongs in a garden and what doesn't.
The collaboration also marked the launch of Fielden Whisky & Kent Wildflower Seeds' exclusive Whisky & Wildflower gift set. The pairing of Fielden's signature Rye Whisky with a curated mix of wildflower seeds designed to support soil health felt like a perfect metaphor for the project's ethos.
The Chelsea Experience
Being part of Chelsea Flower Show was both thrilling and slightly surreal for Frances. Here was her work, displayed alongside some of the most prestigious garden designs in the world, advocating for the humble wildflowers that most people spend their weekends trying to eliminate from their lawns.
The project's success was evident when the King visited the stand and chatted with Charlotte about the display. The following day, the exhibit was awarded a gold medal – a remarkable achievement that validated the team's mission to celebrate wildflowers alongside traditional garden plants.
The partnership between Fielden Whisky and Kent Wildflower Seeds felt like a natural collaboration – both champion the idea that working with nature, rather than against it, creates more resilient and beautiful results. For Frances, being able to contribute to that message through her art was deeply fulfilling.
This project perfectly encapsulated everything she values about design: the celebration of natural beauty, the questioning of arbitrary conventions, and the creation of work that tells a story about our relationship with the landscape around us.